Lost: A Sense of Proportion

My dad walks inside: "Hey, guess what! I found a Griffin's jawbone!"

Me: *blink* "What?"

Dad: *shows me a partial jawbone of... something, missing most of the teeth*

Me: "Griffins have beaks. They don't have any teeth."

Eric: "Told you she wouldn't fall for it."

XD

My family's so crazy. And I love my dad for even thinking of that joke.

Guess what! I'm a red-with-brown belt in karate now! *so bouncy* Nef wasn't feeling real well, so she didn't test this time, which is sad... but she's not particularly bothered, because now Eric and I both have to do harder stuff in class than she does. XD

As far as other stuff going on...

Made squirrel for dinner the other day. The guys have been shooting them lately, and decided that we really ought to try eating them. Eh... not something I think I'd do again. Not that it tasted bad - in fact, it was quite good - but, well.

You must realize, I am not particularly squeamish when it comes to meat - either the preparing, or the eating. I've tried some pretty odd things, just for the sake of having eaten it at least once. I frequently deal with various kinds of meat in the kitchen, of course, and I have helped butcher a deer, I clean fish (and bait my own hooks, take the fish off the hooks, and cook them, naturally, started learning all that when I was about five), and none of these things bother me. I also favor the idea that if you're going to kill an animal, it's good to eat it when possible rather than wasting it.

I don't know, maybe it's the fact that they were squirrels. Squirrels are cute. I like them. (Deer are beautiful, and I like them too, but squirrels are cute and little. I rather lost my appetite for that reason eating quail, even though I liked it - all I could picture was my parakeet... :P) Squirrels are also pests, yes, and these were trouble-makers that needed to be got rid of. Still.

Might've also been the fact that, while I was preparing them, I was extremely hungry. That, combined with spending so much time trying to get the fur off the meat, and then the smell of it cooking - just enough "normal food, and yet... not" - was enough to make me start feeling sick. Somehow, the smell of that meat, just...

Might've also had something to do with the fact that my brother tends to process things by talking. A lot. And therefore felt the need to go over the killing and gutting process in great detail, regardless of whether we might be eating at the time (difference in appearance between blood and brain matter on snow, versus ground, smells involved... yeah, maybe interesting for writing research purposes, but now?).

The fact that my piece of meat still had some pieces of hair on it might also have contributed. I maintain that Eric was the one who cleaned that one. :P

So yeah. Not real interested in trying squirrel again. I'm glad I did once... sort of. But if Dad and Eric want to do it again, I think the meat's gonna be done with barbecue sauce for a guys-only night. Heh.

On a completely different track - yay, such pretty new eggs out at dragon cave! And for the first time, I actually knew from the start what two of them were going to be. *has so much insider knowledge* He, yeah, or not - but I was following their progress and they were finished quite recently - which gives me hope that it may not be so very long before one of my concepts has a chance of making it. ^.^ So -



And along those lines...

( Bit of an art update. )

Whether they're likely to make it to the full 50,000 by the end of the month or not, I have been just so impressed by what my friends who're working on NaNo have been accomplishing. *cheers y'all on* (Seriously, cairistiona7, almost there already, and it's only the 18th?! *iz ded of awe*) This morning I was thinking about it, and you know what I realized?

My sister has been doing NaNo. By accident.

Yeah, really. Shortly after we went to a writing conference on Halloween, she was struck by inspiration, wrote a several-thousand-word fanfic, then started in on a longer related piece, and has been basically writing two or three thousand words every day. (And this is good stuff. I've been editing as she goes along, and she's just nailing what she wants to accomplish here.) It's not improbable that she will have the story finished by the end of the month, and if the final word count is over 50,000 (probable)... she will have done NaNo. Without trying to. Oh, not that writing this hasn't been work for her, but... srsly. o.o

Me, on the other hand? My nickname ought to be The Turtle, because even when I'm inspired I am slooow. *g* I shall be very lucky if my word count for the month makes it to 10,000. But at least I'm writing and having fun? And Teh Crossover of Epic Weirdness (aka "currently nameless NCIS/Temeraire story") is still going well? And I'm hoping to make it to at least 7,000 words by the end of the month? Aaaand, while doing research the other day to have a better basis for one of my ideas, I came across something else really cool that may make it even more fun. (Spiders, yay!) So I'm accomplished too, in my own small, strange way.

:D

I just have to say - I love my family.

This morning, our brother came down to wake us up and let us know there were pancakes ready. (Mr. Morning Person, who loves making big breakfasts...) Neffie told him she was too tired to get up, he'd have to carry her upstairs. So... he did. Little brother's not so little anymore. :)

*is so amused* 

Okay, so I was going to do this Saturday, actually, but... I... didn't. Obviously. Because she distracted me! *points

at kel_candelae * (Okay, so yes, I invited and welcomed the distraction, but... *smiles innocently*) And then of course I was at church much of Sunday. So why didn't I do it yesterday? Well, my poor little sis got her wisdom teeth taken out, so much of the day revolved around trying to make her feel better/entertain her. And today, I, er, slept 'til noon, actually. *sheepish* Well, I had about a week of not enough sleep to catch up on, and Nef really needed it, and since we share a room... ;)

So, although my squee may seem quite belated, I assure you it is none the less enthusiastic for it. I've been walking around for the last several days, singing under my breath and giggling at random moments.

( POP awesomeness. :D )

Yes, I do realize that I have a tendency to post either once every three weeks or so, or every other day. Um... sorry? :P

Not much to say, just felt like posting... because.

Dad was practicing the other day with the new bow we got him for his birthday. The result?



And a close-up:





Yep, split his own arrow. My dad: Robin Hood. *bg*

(Sorry about the lack of good cropping/sizing on the pics. My brain's still MIA, much to dear Neffie's amusement. She's quite enjoying my more... interesting commentary. The other day we were at a store, looking at a kinda cool lamp. My comment? "It's swirly... like a universe." Heh, meaning, of course, that the pattern on it was shaped rather like a spiral galaxy. *facepalm*)

Oh! And my little dragons should be hatching soon! 'Cept the last one, which is a bit behind.



:) Clicks are appreciated.

So, we rented Kung Fu Panda to watch last night, which I've wanted to do for some time, because it looked like fun and, well... martial arts and all, y'know? *bg*

( Randomness: movie and heroes and awesomeness and funny - and Mountain Dew! )

Man. I am so totally wiped out. Also, kind of deliriously happy. Hehe.

Ashley (and Lexie!) wound up spending most of the day here, baking Christmas cookies and generally hanging out. And then when Evan came to pick them up, they all ended up staying to dinner, so Dad was able to spend some time with them too. It was so wonderful. Very exhausting, but so very fun. :D

I have no idea how Lexie manages to just keep getting more beautiful. And I can't believe she's nearly six months old already - ! She is... the most wonderful, perfect, adorable... Ehem. *sheepish smile* Yes, I know, y'all have heard the song and dance a dozen times before. But seriously. *happy sigh* 'M afraid you may have to suffer through another picture post sometime soon, here. ;)

I think I'm gonna fall asleep here now. Or maybe, I dunno... write a couple thousand words on one of my stories. Or something.

He.

So... I'm back! Did ya miss me? *g* It's strange... On the one hand, it feels like we only just started out yesterday, but at the same time it feels like we've been gone months.

First, a brief summary:

States visited on the trip: 15

Countries: 2

Saw: So many beautiful places, I don't know how to begin to describe them. Even the bodies of water alone - the ocean, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan...

Books: Two short ones (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Writing Magic) completely read, and got a quite a way through two longer ones (Vulcan's Forge and God in the Dock). So, not very much, but it wasn't really a trip conducive to reading. All great books, though. :D Also listened to quite a number of books on tape - bit more on that in a minute. And bought a few books, too. Found a neat little out-of-print and used books store - it was in the process of being re-arranged, so the only section in any sort of real order was the Scifi section. Being the people of... eclectic tastes we are, Neffie and I bought several Star Trek books, The Iliad, and a neat old copy of The Merchant of Venice.

Writing: Finished the SGA story! *dances* It is the longest story I have ever written, by about... 11,500 words. *whistles* Coolness. o.o 33,700 words may not be that much ('specially next to certain prolific people I know) but, questions of quality aside, that is quite an accomplishment for me. :)

Art: Heh heh. Two finished pictures, and one rough sketch. But I actually got a ton accomplished. More on that in a bit.

Time had: Absolutely awesome. ;D

( More details and vacation-related ramblings. )

LOL, oh yes, I'm still very much excited and energized and walking around with a permanent goofy grin on my face. But come on, tell me...